Inter-religious Dialogue among Young People in a Post-Conflict Society

Experiences with a Small Grassroots Project in Central Bosnia

Abstract

This article offers insight into how an ever-widening gap between two communities of young people of different ethnic and religious background, living side by side without contact, can be addressed by local initiatives coming from within informal groups of community members. The figures given illustrate the prevalence of ignorance of “the other” among young people aged 15 to 19 who attend a specific form of school unique to Bosnia and Herzegovina that segregates students across ethnic lines. The grassroots project described in the article encompasses surveys, awareness campaigns, publishing, and workshop activities implemented in a geographically distinct and religiously diverse area of the upper Vrbas Valley in Central Bosnia.